The initial inspiration for the story of The Royal Tenenbaums was allegedly Wes Anderson's own parents' divorce, but as he began to write and make the film, a number of other inspirations began to come into play, allusions that can be spotted throughout the film in subtle ways. In making the film, Anderson (and co-writer Owen Wilson) found inspiration from music, film, and literature in constructing the specific and unusual world of the eccentric family.
One inspiration that loomed large in the writing of the film was the work of reclusive novelist J.D. Salinger, in particular his novella Franny and Zooey, which follows the plights of a brother and sister, former child prodigies, in an eccentric Manhattan family. The parallels are obvious; Richie and Margot are stand-ins for the gifted children of Salinger's book. Additionally, Anderson modeled the connection between the siblings (particularly their hiding in the Museum of Natural History) on E.L. Konigburg's young adult novel From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, about two siblings from Connecticut who run away and hide out in the Metropolitan Museum. With this source material as well, the parallel is obvious.
Anderson also found a great deal of inspiration from other films. Orson Welles' film The Magnificent Ambersons, about a prominent Midwestern family in financial decline, provided inspiration for the title and premise. Inspiration for the treatment of the subject of suicide came from Louis Malle's The Fire Within. Jean-Pierre Melville's film Les Enfants Terribles, about semi-incestuous siblings, helped inform the dynamics between Margot and Richie.
